WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2020 -- SOUTH AFRICA
What to do with a gap between two travel adventures - the end of our thrilling Kenyan safari and the start of an exotic cruise from Cape Town? What else but explore another of the world’s iconic wine regions. Since we met three decades ago, whenever possible, my husband and I seek out wine country pleasures - bucolic views, charming inns, leisurely tastings and casual fine dining. If trips bring us near vineyards - Virginia to Oregon, France to Australia, we visit for an afternoon or several days. This time our wine country destination was South Africa, one of the oldest wine-making regions outside of Europe, where Dutch and French settlers began tending vines in the mid-1600s. For a week, including Valentine’s Day when we celebrated our 31st anniversary, we explored the stunningly beautiful Winelands of the western cape, less than an hour drive from Cape Town.
What to do with a gap between two travel adventures - the end of our thrilling Kenyan safari and the start of an exotic cruise from Cape Town? What else but explore another of the world’s iconic wine regions. Since we met three decades ago, whenever possible, my husband and I seek out wine country pleasures - bucolic views, charming inns, leisurely tastings and casual fine dining. If trips bring us near vineyards - Virginia to Oregon, France to Australia, we visit for an afternoon or several days. This time our wine country destination was South Africa, one of the oldest wine-making regions outside of Europe, where Dutch and French settlers began tending vines in the mid-1600s. For a week, including Valentine’s Day when we celebrated our 31st anniversary, we explored the stunningly beautiful Winelands of the western cape, less than an hour drive from Cape Town.
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dens on his 21st birthday, he transformed them
into the world-renowned attraction it is today. It is
now a National Historic Site of Canada.
My stroll through Butchart Gardens — which of
course I also remembered from 1964 — was a
magical garden walk. At the Sunken Garden where
it all began, weeping willows and evergreens
tower over 150 flower beds in five acres — some
65,000 bulbs are planted for spring flowers. I was
too late for blooms in the Rose Garden, but imagine
its 2,500 plants and 30 arches filled with 280
varieties of roses in spring and summer.
The maple and beech trees of The Japanese Garden
were breathtakingly serene and contemplative
as they rose above little streams cascading
under red foot bridges where tiny statues nestle.
Some 74 Japanese maples are here in its one acre
along with 500 rhododendrons and azaleas.
Arriving when the gardens open at 9 a.m. is the
best bet for avoiding the crowds that come any
time of year.
While I still had my rental car, I made my way to
Hatley Park National Historic Site to walk its miles
of trails through old-growth forest as well as Japanese
and Italian gardens. Some fine peacocks
strolled along with me there.
I also drove to Craigdarroch Castle, built in
1890 by coal industrialist Robert Dunsmuir, a
Scottish immigrant. This enormous home is now in
conservation as a national treasure and historic
house museum. Its 25,572 square feet of rooms,
fitted to appear like they would have during the
Dunsmuirs’ time, boast some of the nation’s finest
stained glass windows.
Back downtown, just a block away from The Empress,
is one of the most beautiful city parks anywhere.
I loved this 200-acre Beacon Hill Park so
much, when I headed back to the hotel after an
Japanese maples bring fall color to
the beautiful Japanese Garden at
Butchart Gardens.
Right: Kids of all ages love strolling
through The Butchart Gardens.
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